Making electrical contacts that extend all the way through an electronic chip (by creating electrically conductive vias) is difficult. Doing so with precision or controlled repeatability, let alone in volume is nearly impossible unless one or more of the following is the case: a) the vias are very shallow, i.e., significantly less than 100 microns in depth, b) the via width is large, or c) the vias are separated by large distances, i.e., many times the via width. The difficulty is compounded when the vias are close enough for signal cross-talk to occur, or if the chip through which the via passes has a charge, because the conductor in the via can not be allowed act as a short, nor can it carry a charge different from the charge of the pertinent portion of the chip. In addition, conventional processes, to the extent they exist, are unsuitable for use with formed integrated circuit (IC) chips (i.e., containing active semiconductor devices) and increase cost because those processes can damage the chips and thereby reduce the ultimate yield. Adding further to the above difficulties is the need to be concerned with capacitance and resistance problems when the material the via passes through has a charge or when the frequencies of the signals to be carried through the vias are very high, for example, in excess of about 0.3 GHz.
Indeed, there are numerous problems that are extant in the semiconductor art including: use of large, non-scaleable packaging; assembly costs don't scale like semiconductors; chip cost is proportional to area, and the highest performance processes are the most expensive, but only fraction of chip area actually requires high-performance processes; current processes are limited in voltage and other technologies; chip designers are limited to one process and one material for design; large, high power pad drivers are needed for chip-to-chip (through package) connections; even small changes or correction of trivial design errors require fabrication of one or more new masks for a whole new chip; making whole new chips requires millions of dollars in mask costs alone; individual chips are difficult and complicated to test and combinations of chips are even more difficult to test prior to complete packaging.
Accordingly, there is a significant need in the art for technology that can address one or more of the above problems.